Online Teaching and Learning: Mentoring is the key
component.
However, while students are called to do more in an online
environment, so are their instructors. Teachers cannot view teaching an online
course as an opportunity to sit back and let the students do all of the work.
We have a great responsibility to place ourselves in reach of the online
student, and to find methods to extend our care and interest for each student
through the online realm. One of the most creative experiences I have
encountered as a teacher is to design and teach an online course.
I am currently teaching an online World Literature course:
Contemporary Arab Writers. Students began the course by reading Cities of Salt,
an excellent contemporary Arab novel by Abdelrahman Munif that depicts the
discovery of oil in a fictional kingdom similar to Saudi Arabia. The book
contains references to characters by their formal Arab names and sometimes by
nickname. This is a confusing dilemma for a reader who is unfamiliar with Arab
culture. My solution was to create an audio podcast of my intentions for the
course in order to alleviate fears of my expectations. I let students know that
they are learning together and that we should each contribute what we know or
understand about unfamiliar terms and references. I would not quiz them on the
terms. I also created a separate space on the course discussion board devoted
to clarifying confusing terms in the book. So far, all students have been able
to successfully complete their reading response assignments.
I also have kept the course design simple. My students have
an extensive amount of reading to complete each week and they are encountering
new concepts as they read. I decided I did not want to create a varied set of
assignments in different parts of the course site. Therefore, each week they
read 100 pages of text. Then they write a summary of their readings and an
interpretive paragraph based on sections of the text. They also have a separate
assignment that directly addresses course goals, such as learning about the
concepts of plot and irony and schools of literary critics. There is quite a bit to think about in order
to develop their responses. All of their responses must be posted on the
discussion board in clearly designated weekly units. I decided to not create multiple paths within
the course. Navigating multiple paths can be frustrating when they are not
necessary to the course learning goals. We must remember that in online course
design, sometimes less is more.
Finally, I am careful to be equitable in how I devote my
time to my courses. I spend a couple of hours a week outside of my in-person
courses grading work and prepping for our in-class discussions. To compensate
in my online courses, I create a phone schedule for my students where I commit
to speak with each of them by phone at least once before midterm, if for no
other reason than to establish a more personal communication channel with each
of them. I create audio and video podcasts where they can hear my voice or see
me as I comment on a section of text. Online courses are wonderful for students
who need flexibility, but teaching is about mentoring and care for the success
of each student. That is still best accomplished through personal attention to
their diverse learning styles and to their varied perspectives on the course topic.
I cannot write about online courses without mentioning
MOOCs, Massive Open Online Courses. MOOCs are being piloted by several
universities and other institutions. Three of the best known institutions who
offer MOOCs are Harvard, MIT and a company named Coursera. MOOCs, are wonderful non-credit learning opportunities
for the experienced, self-directed student. However, students who need a
teacher-mentor may not do well in a MOOC.
The typical online course still requires a significant mentoring
component. The course designer must also be the teacher, and we must continue
to develop new ways to mentor and support our students as they grow in their
subject knowledge, literacy skills and critical thinking skills.
I love the efforts you make to create a more personal connection between you and your online students, but I wonder about one of your contentions. In a world where our technologies change before we can even finish adapting to the old ones, we need to remain critical, even skeptical.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that the best way to help them learn is through personal attention to their diverse learning styles.
I get how a phone conference might help alleviate any problems a student might be having, and I find it a reasonable solution to a pretty serious problem with online learning . . . but much of your post was about simplifying the course and "creating a single path" for students. Much of that talk seems at odds with talk of differentiation and catering to diverse learning styles, does it not?
Do you think of this as a serious conflict? Does online learning tend toward homogeneity in the learning process? In thought? In oversimplifications?
While a course design may be simple and straight-forward, online teaching and learning allows personal attention through various means. Typed discussion feeds are very common, but through VoiceThread, teachers and students can have asynchronous video discussions, even in small groups. Wikis are perfect for peer reviews, as they can revise one another's work, and give or receive immediate feedback. In a flipped classroom, where recorded lectures are given online with PowerPoint slides, and students come to class for discussion or group work, they can listen to the same lecture multiple times as they study for an exam. Lectures can also be broken down into ten-minute segments, which may be easier for both instructor and students. Lectures could also be downloaded so students can listen to them on an iPod. Should students really have to come to class for an hour to write down what someone says?
ReplyDeleteThe average online student is an adult returning to school to finish a degree, or to earn an advanced degree. They have full-time jobs and families. They often go to school at 10:00pm after their kids go to sleep. They know what it takes to adapt regardless of their learning styles.